Snap pea variety sugar 136

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides novel snap pea cultivar Sugar 136 and plant parts, seed, and tissue culture therefrom. The invention also provides methods for producing a pea plant by crossing the pea plants of the invention with themselves or another pea plant. The invention also provides pea plants produced from such a crossing as well as plant parts, seed, and tissue culture therefrom.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field of pea plants, in particular, theinvention relates to novel snap pea cultivar Sugar 136.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a snap pea (Pisum sativum var.macrocarpon) variety designated Sugar 136.

Garden peas (Pisum sativum L.) produce pod fruits and include commongreen English peas and edible-podded peas. These can be distinguished inthat English peas are generally shelled and only the seed eaten, whereasthe edible-podded peas are eaten whole. Edible-podded peas include snappeas, which are characterized by a round pod, and the flat-podded snowpea. The pods of edible-podded peas are less fibrous than those fromEnglish peas and do not open when ripe.

Pea is an important and valuable vegetable crop for both the fresh andprocessed markets. Thus, there is an ongoing need for improved peavarieties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a novel snap pea cultivardesignated and referred to herein as Sugar 136, also known as SL3136.Thus, the invention also encompasses the seeds of pea cultivar Sugar136, the plants of pea cultivar Sugar 136, plant parts of the peacultivar Sugar 136 (including pods, berries, seeds, gametes), methods ofproducing seed from pea cultivar Sugar 136, and methods for producing apea plant by crossing the pea cultivar Sugar 136 with itself or anotherpea plant, methods for producing a pea plant containing in its geneticmaterial one or more transgenes, and the transgenic pea plants producedby that method. The invention also relates to methods for producingother pea plants derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 and to pea plants,parts thereof and seed derived by the use of those methods. The presentinvention further relates to pea seeds and plants (and parts thereofincluding pods and/or berries) produced by crossing pea cultivar Sugar136 with itself or with another pea plant (e.g., an F1 hybrid seed orplant).

In another aspect, the present invention provides regenerable cells foruse in tissue culture of pea cultivar Sugar 136. In embodiments, thetissue culture is capable of regenerating plants having all oressentially all of the physiological and morphological characteristicsof the foregoing pea plant and/or of regenerating plants having the sameor substantially the same genotype as the foregoing pea plant. Inexemplary embodiments, the regenerable cells in such tissue cultures aremeristematic cells, cotyledons, hypocotyl, leaves, pollen, embryos,roots, root tips, anthers, pistils, ovules, shoots, stems, petiole,pith, flowers, capsules, pods, berries and/or seeds as well as callusand/or protoplasts derived from any of the foregoing. Still further, thepresent invention provides pea plants regenerated from the tissuecultures of the invention.

As a further aspect, the invention provides a method of producing peaseed, the method comprising crossing a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136with itself or a second pea plant. Pea cultivar Sugar 136 can be thefemale and/or male parent. Optionally, the method further comprisescollecting the seed.

The invention further provides a method of producing a progeny peaplant, the method comprising crossing a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136with itself or a second pea plant to produce at least a first progenyplant, which may optionally be a selfed plant or an F1 hybrid. Peacultivar Sugar 136 can be the female and/or male parent.

Another aspect of the invention provides methods for producing hybridsand other pea plants derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136. Pea plantsderived by the use of those methods are also part of the invention aswell as plant parts, seed, gametes and tissue culture from such hybridor derived pea plants.

In representative embodiments, a pea plant derived from pea cultivarSugar 136 comprises cells comprising at least one set of chromosomesderived from pea cultivar Sugar 136. In embodiments, a pea plant orpopulation of pea plants derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprises,on average, at least about 6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%,55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% of itsalleles from pea cultivar Sugar 136, e.g., at least about 6.25%, 12.5%,25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%,96%, 97%, 98% or 99% of the genetic complement of pea cultivar Sugar136. In embodiments, the pea plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136is one, two, three, four, five or more breeding crosses removed from peacultivar Sugar 136.

In embodiments, a hybrid or derived plant from pea cultivar Sugar 136comprises a desired added trait(s). In representative embodiments, a peaplant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprises some or all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of pea cultivar Sugar136 (e.g., as described herein, in particular, in Tables 1-4). Inembodiments, the pea plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprisesessentially all of the morphological and physiological characteristicsof pea cultivar Sugar 136 (e.g., as described herein, in particular, inTables 1-4), with the addition of a desired added trait(s).

The invention also relates to methods for producing a pea plantcomprising in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to thetransgenic pea plant produced by those methods (and progeny pea plantscomprising the transgene). Also provided are plant parts, seed andtissue culture from such transgenic pea plants, optionally wherein oneor more cells in the plant part, seed, or tissue culture comprises thetransgene. The transgene can be introduced via plant transformationand/or breeding techniques.

In another aspect, the present invention provides for single geneconverted plants of pea cultivar Sugar 136. Plant parts, seed, andtissue culture from such single gene converted plants are alsocontemplated by the present invention. The single transferred gene maybe a dominant or recessive allele. In representative embodiments, thesingle transferred gene confers such traits as male sterility, herbicideresistance, pest resistance (e.g., insect and/or nematode resistance),modified fatty acid metabolism, modified carbohydrate metabolism,disease resistance (e.g., for bacterial, fungal and/or viral disease),male fertility, enhanced nutritional quality, improved appearance (e.g.,color), improved salt tolerance, industrial usage, or any combinationthereof. The single gene may be a naturally occurring pea gene or atransgene introduced into pea through genetic engineering techniques.

The invention further provides methods for developing pea plants in apea plant breeding program using plant breeding techniques including,for example, recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigree breeding,double haploid techniques, restriction fragment length polymorphismenhanced selection, genetic marker enhanced selection and/ortransformation. Seeds, pea plants, and parts thereof, produced by suchbreeding methods are also part of the invention.

The invention also provides methods of multiplication or propagation ofpea plants of the invention, which can be accomplished using any methodknown in the art, for example, via vegetative propagation and/or seed.

The invention further provides a method of producing food or feedcomprising (a) obtaining a pea plant of the invention, optionallywherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting atleast one pea plant or part thereof (e.g., pods or berries) from theplant. In embodiments, obtaining a pea plant comprises growing theplant.

Additional aspects of the invention include harvested products andprocessed products from the pea plants of the invention. A harvestedproduct can be a whole plant or any plant part, as described herein.Thus, in some embodiments, a non-limiting example of a harvested productincludes a seed, a pod and/or a berry.

In representative embodiments, a processed product includes, but is notlimited to: dehydrated, cut, sliced, ground, pureed, dried, canned,jarred, washed, brined, packaged, refrigerated, frozen and/or heatedpods, berries and/or seeds of the pea plants of the invention, or anyother part thereof. In embodiments, a processed product includes a sugaror other carbohydrate, fiber, protein and/or aromatic compound that isextracted, purified or isolated from a pea plant of the invention. Inembodiments, the processed product includes washed and packaged podsand/or berries (or parts thereof) of the invention, for example, in acanned or frozen form.

Thus, the invention also provides a method of producing a processedproduct from a plant of the invention, the method comprising (a)obtaining a pod or berry of a plant of the invention; and (b) processingthe pod or berry to produce a processed product. In embodiments,processing comprises canning, jarring and/or freezing.

The invention provides seed of the pea plants of the instant invention.In representative embodiments, the invention provides a seed of a peaplant of the invention. In embodiments, the invention is directed toseed that produces the pea plants of the invention.

The seed of the invention can optionally be provided as an essentiallyhomogenous population of seed of a single plant or cultivar. Essentiallyhomogenous populations of seed are generally free from substantialnumbers of other seed, e.g., at least about 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or99% pure.

As a further aspect, the invention provides a plant of pea cultivarSugar 136.

As an additional aspect, the invention provides a pea plant, or a partthereof, having all or essentially all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136.

As another aspect, the invention provides pods, berries and/or seed ofthe pea plants of the invention and a processed product from the pods,berries and/or seed of the inventive pea plants.

As still another aspect, the invention provides a method of producingpea seed, the method comprising crossing a pea plant of the inventionwith itself or a second pea plant. The invention also provides seedproduced by this method and plants produced by growing the seed.

As yet a further aspect, the invention provides a method for producing aseed of a pea plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136, the methodcomprising: (a) crossing a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136 with a secondpea plant; (b) allowing seed to form; (c) growing a plant from the seedof step (b) to produce a plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136; (d)selfing the plant of step (c) or crossing it to a second pea plant toform additional pea seed derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136; and (e)optionally repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more times (e.g., one,two, one to three, one to five, one to six, one to seven, one to ten,three to five, three to six, three to seven, three to eight or three toten times) to generate further derived pea seed from pea cultivar Sugar136, wherein in step (c) a plant is grown from the additional pea seedof step (d) in place of growing a plant from the seed of step (b). Asanother option, in embodiments, the method comprises collecting the peaseed. The invention also provides seed produced by these methods andplants derived from pea cultivated Sugar 136 produced by growing theseed.

As another aspect, the invention is also directed to a method ofproducing a pod comprising obtaining a plant according to the instantinvention and harvesting a pod from the plant. In embodiments, obtaininga plant of the invention comprises growing the plant to produce a pod.In one embodiment, the method further comprises processing the pod toobtain a berry or seed. In one embodiment, a berry according the instantinvention is a fresh product or a processed product (e.g., a cannedproduct or a frozen product).

The invention is also directed to a method of producing a berry or seedcomprising obtaining a pod of a plant according to the instant inventionand processing the pod to obtain a berry or seed. In one embodiment, aberry according the instant invention is a fresh product or a processedproduct (e.g., a canned product or a frozen product).

Still further, as another aspect, the invention provides a method ofvegetatively propagating a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136. In anon-limiting example, the method comprises: (a) collecting tissuecapable of being propagated from a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136; (b)cultivating the tissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c) rootingthe proliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets. Optionally, theinvention further comprises growing plants from the rooted plantlets.The invention also encompasses the plantlets and plants produced bythese methods.

As an additional aspect, the invention provides a method of introducinga desired added trait into pea cultivar Sugar 136, the methodcomprising: (a) crossing a first plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136 with asecond pea plant that comprises a desired trait to produce F₁ progeny;(b) selecting an F₁ progeny that comprises the desired trait; (c)crossing the selected F₁ progeny with pea cultivar Sugar 136 to producebackcross progeny; and (d) selecting backcross progeny comprising thedesired trait to produce a plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136comprising a desired trait. In embodiments, the selected progeny has oneor more of the characteristics of Sugar 136 (e.g., as described herein,in particular, in Tables 1-4). In embodiments, the selected progenycomprises all or essentially all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the first plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136.Optionally, the method further comprises: (e) repeating steps (c) and(d) one or more times (e.g., one, two, one to three, one to five, one tosix, one to seven, one to ten, three to five, three to six, three toseven, three to eight or three to ten times) to produce a plant derivedfrom pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprising the desired trait, wherein instep (c) the selected backcross progeny produced in step (d) is used inplace of the selected F1 progeny of step (b).

In representative embodiments, the invention also provides a method ofproducing a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprising a desired addedtrait, the method comprising introducing a transgene conferring thedesired trait into a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136. The transgene canbe introduced by transformation methods (e.g., genetic engineering) orbreeding techniques. In embodiments, the plant comprising the transgenehas one or more of the morphological and physiological characteristicsof Sugar 136 (e.g., as described herein, in particular, in Tables 1-4).In embodiments, the plant comprising the transgene comprises all oressentially all of the morphological and physiological characteristicsof pea cultivar Sugar 136.

The invention also provides pea plants produced by the methods of theinvention or a selfed progeny thereof, wherein the pea plant has thedesired added trait as well as seed from such pea plants.

According to the foregoing methods, the desired added trait can be anysuitable trait known in the art including, for example, male sterility,male fertility, herbicide resistance, insect or pest (e.g., insectand/or nematode) resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism, disease resistance (e.g., for bacterial, fungaland/or viral disease), enhanced nutritional quality, increasedsweetness, increased flavor, improved ripening control, improved salttolerance, industrial usage, or any combination thereof.

In representative embodiments, a transgene conferring herbicideresistance confers resistance to glyphosate, sulfonylurea,imidazolinone, dicamba, glufosinate, phenoxy proprionic acid,L-phosphinothricin, cyclohexone, cyclohexanedione, triazine,benzonitrile, or any combination thereof.

In representative embodiments, a transgene conferring pest resistance(e.g., insect and/or nematode resistance) encodes a Bacillusthuringiensis endotoxin.

In representative embodiments, transgenic plants (e.g., using geneticengineering techniques), single gene converted plants, hybrid plants andpea plants derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 have at least 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of pea cultivar Sugar 136 (e.g., as described herein, inparticular, in Tables 1-4), or even all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of pea cultivar Sugar 136, so that saidplants are not significantly different for said traits than pea cultivarSugar 136, as determined at the 5% significance level when grown in thesame environmental conditions; optionally, with the presence of one ormore desired additional traits (e.g., male sterility, diseaseresistance, pest or insect resistance, herbicide resistance, and thelike).

The invention also encompasses plant parts, plant material, pollen,ovules, leaves, berries, pods and seed from the pea plants of theinvention. Also provided is a tissue culture of regenerable cells fromthe pea plants of the invention, where optionally, the regenerable cellsare: (a) embryos, meristem, leaves, pollen, cotyledons, hypocotyls,roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, pistils, ovules, seed, shoots,stems, stalks, petioles, pith, pods, berries and/or capsules; or (b)callus or protoplasts derived from the cells of (a). Further providedare pea plants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method ofdetermining a genetic characteristic of pea cultivar Sugar 136 or aprogeny thereof, e.g., a method of determining a genotype of peacultivar Sugar 136 or a progeny thereof. In embodiments, the methodcomprises detecting in the genome of a Sugar 136 plant, or a progenyplant thereof, at least a first polymorphism. To illustrate, inembodiments, the method comprises obtaining a sample of nucleic acidsfrom the plant and detecting at least a first polymorphism in thenucleic acid sample. Optionally, the method may comprise detecting aplurality of polymorphisms (e.g., two or more, three or more, four ormore, five or more, six or more, eight or more or ten or morepolymorphisms, etc.) in the genome of the plant. In representativeembodiments, the method further comprises storing the results of thestep of detecting the polymorphism(s) on a computer readable medium. Theinvention further provides a computer readable medium produced by such amethod.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,the invention is described in more detail in the description of theinvention set forth below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is based, in part, on the development of a novelpea variety designated Sugar 136.

It should be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in thedescription of the invention herein is for the purpose of describingparticular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of theinvention.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, it is specifically intended thatthe various features and embodiments of the invention described hereincan be used in any combination.

Moreover, the present invention also contemplates that in someembodiments of the invention, any feature or combination of features setforth herein can be excluded or omitted. To illustrate, if thespecification states that a composition comprises components A, B and C,it is specifically intended that any of A, B or C, or a combinationthereof, can be omitted and disclaimed singularly or in any combination.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in thedescription of the invention herein is for the purpose of describingparticular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of theinvention.

All publications, patent applications, patents, and other referencesmentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

DEFINITIONS

In the description and tables that follow, a number of terms are used.In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, including the scope to be given such terms,the following definitions are provided:

As used in the description of the invention and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

As used herein, “and/or” refers to and encompasses any and all possiblecombinations of one or more of the associated listed items, as well asthe lack of combinations when interpreted in the alternative (“or”).

The term “about,” as used herein when referring to a measurable valuesuch as a dosage or time period and the like, is meant to encompassvariations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, ±1%, ±0.5%, or even ±0.1% of thespecified amount.

The term “comprise,” “comprises” and “comprising” as used herein,specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the transitional phrase “consisting essentially of”means that the scope of a claim is to be interpreted to encompass thespecified materials or steps recited in the claim “and those that do notmaterially affect the basic and novel characteristic(s)” of the claimedinvention. See, In re Herz, 537 F.2d 549, 551-52, 190 U.S.P.Q. 461, 463(CCPA 1976) (emphasis in the original); see also MPEP §2111.03. Thus,the term “consisting essentially of” when used in a claim or thedescription of this invention is not intended to be interpreted to beequivalent to “comprising.”

“Afila”. Afila is a foliar configuration resulting from the gene ‘af’,which acts to transform the leaflets on a normal foliage pea totendrils. Afila plants tend to be more upright in the field than normalfoliage peas as the tendrils grab onto one another to hold each otherup.

“Allele”. An allele is any of one or more alternative forms of a gene,all of which relate to a trait or characteristic. In a diploid cell ororganism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding loci on apair of homologous chromosomes.

“Backcrossing”. Backcrossing is a process in which a breeder repeatedlycrosses hybrid progeny back to one of the parents, for example, a firstgeneration hybrid F₁ with one of the parental genotype of the F₁ hybrid.

“Cotyledon”. One of the first leaves of the embryo of a seed plant;typically one or more in monocotyledons, two in dicotyledons, and two ormore in gymnosperms.

“Determinate Plant”. A determinate plant will grow to a fixed number ofnodes while an indeterminate plant will continue to grow during theseason.

“Double haploid line”. A stable inbred line achieved by doubling thechromosomes of a haploid line, e.g., from anther culture. For example,some pollen grains (haploid) cultivated under specific conditionsdevelop plantlets containing 1 n chromosomes. The chromosomes in theseplantlets are then induced to “double” (e.g., using chemical means)resulting in cells containing 2n chromosomes. The progeny of theseplantlets are termed “double haploid” and are essentiallynon-segregating (e.g., are stable). The term “double haploid” is usedinterchangeably herein with “dihaploid.”

“Essentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics”. Aplant having “essentially all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics” means a plant having the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the recurrent parent, except for thecharacteristics derived from the converted gene(s).

“Field holding ability”. A pea plant that has good field holding abilityindicates a plant having berries that slowly change in tenderness (e.g.,as measured by a tenderometer) over time.

“First water date”. The date the seed first receives adequate moistureto germinate. This can and often does equal the planting date.

“Gene”. As used herein, “gene” refers to a segment of nucleic acidcomprising an open reading frame. A gene can be introduced into a genomeof a species, whether from a different species or from the same species,using transformation or various breeding methods.

“Genetic complement”. As used herein, a “genetic complement” refers tothe total genetic make-up of the plant.

“Heat unit”. The amount of heat needed to mature a crop. It is used tomeasure maturity based on the daily accumulated heat produced during thegrowing season. The formula [(daily maximum F.°−daily minimum F.°)−40]/2is used to calculate heat units for peas.

“Inbred line”. As used herein, the phrase “inbred line” refers to agenetically homozygous or nearly homozygous population. An inbred line,for example, can be derived through several cycles of sib crossingand/or selfing and/or via double haploid production. In someembodiments, inbred lines breed true for one or more traits of interest.An “inbred plant” or “inbred progeny” is an individual sampled from aninbred line.

“Machine harvestable plant”. A machine harvestable plant means a peaplant that stands tall and/or upright enough to allow pods and berriesto be harvested by machine. The pods can be removed by a machine fromthe plant without leaves and other plant parts being harvested.

“Maturity date”. Plants are considered mature when the pods have reachedtheir maximum desirable berry size and sieve size for the specific useintended.

“Node”. A node is the thickened enlargement on a plant. It is where thestipules, leaf and peduncle arise.

“Nodes to 1^(st) flower”. The number of nodes to 1^(st) flower isobtained by counting the number of nodes from above the point ofcotyledon attachment to the node from which the first peduncle arises.

“Pea plant”. As used herein, the term “pea plant” or “pea” includes anyplant classified as a Pisum sativum. Exemplary pea plants includewithout limitation shell peas, edible-podded peas (e.g., peas, snowpeas), and field (dry) peas (e.g., split peas).

“Pea Yield” (Tons/Acre). The yield in tons/acre is the actual yield ofthe peas at harvest.

“Peduncle”. A peduncle is the stalk that bearing flower (s) andsubsequent pod(s) arising from a node.

“Plant.” As used herein, the term “plant” includes plant cells, plantprotoplasts, plant cell tissue cultures from which plants can beregenerated, plant calli, plant clumps, and plant cells that are intactin plants or parts of plants, such as leaves, pollen, embryos,cotyledons, hypocotyl, roots, root tips, anthers, pistils, flowers,ovules, seeds, stems, berries, pods, and the like.

“Plant adaptability”. A plant having a good plant adaptability means aplant that will perform well in different growing conditions andseasons.

“Plant Height”. Plant height is taken from the top of soil to top mostleaf of the plant.

“Plant material”. The terms “plant material” and “material obtainablefrom a plant” are used interchangeably herein and refer to any plantmaterial obtainable from a plant including without limitation, leaves,stems, roots, flowers or flower parts, fruits, pollen, ovules, zygotes,pods, berries, seeds, cuttings, cell or tissue cultures, or any otherpart or product of the plant.

“Plant part”. As used herein, a “plant part” includes any part, organ,tissue or cell of a plant including without limitation an embryo,meristem, leaf, pollen, cotyledon, hypocotyl, root, root tip, anther,flower, flower bud, pistil, ovule, seed, shoot, stem, stalk, petiole,pith, capsule, a scion, a rootstock, pod, berry and/or a fruit includingcallus and protoplasts derived from any of the foregoing.

“Pod width between the sutures”. As used herein, the term “pod widthbetween the sutures” refers to a method of measuring pod width usingcalipers held on the suture on either side of the pod.

“Sieve Size” (sv). Sieve size is a measure of the diameter of the freshpea and is commonly used in grading peas. A sieve 1 is a berry that goesthrough a hole 9/32″ (7.15 mm) in diameter, a sieve 2 berry goes througha hole 10/32″ (7.94 mm) in diameter, a sieve 3 berry goes through a hole11/32″ (10.32 mm) in diameter, a sieve 4 berry goes through a hole12/32″ (9.53 mm), a sieve 5 berry goes through a hole 13/32″ (10.32 mm),and a sieve 6 and above goes through a hole greater than 13/32″ (10.32mm). A sieve size average is calculated by multiplying the percent ofpeas within each sieve size by the sieve size, summing these productsand dividing by 100.

“Tenderometer”. A tenderometer is a device for determining the maturityand tenderness of a pea sample.

“Quantitative Trait Loci”. Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) refers togenetic loci that control to some degree, numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

“Regeneration”. Regeneration refers to the development of a plant fromtissue culture.

“Resistance”. As used herein the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” (andgrammatical variations thereof) are used interchangeably to describeplants that show reduced or essentially no symptoms to a specific biotic(e.g., a pest, pathogen or disease) or abiotic (e.g., exogenous orenvironmental, including herbicides) factor or stressor. In someembodiments, “resistant” or “tolerant” plants show some symptoms but arestill able to produce marketable product with an acceptable yield, e.g.,the yield may still be reduced and/or the plants may be stunted ascompared with the yield or growth in the absence of the biotic and/orabiotic factor or stressor. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the degree of resistance or tolerance may be assessed with respectto a plurality or even an entire field of plants. A pea plant may beconsidered “resistant” or “tolerant” if resistance/tolerance is observedover a plurality of plants (e.g., an average), even if particularindividual plants may be susceptible to the biotic or abiotic factor orstressor.

“RHS”. RHS refers to the Royal Horticultural Society of England whichpublishes an official botanical color chart quantitatively identifyingcolors according to a defined numbering system. The chart may bepurchased from Royal Horticulture Society Enterprise Ltd., RHS Garden;Wisley, Woking; Surrey GU236QB, UK.

“Single gene converted”. A single gene converted or conversion plantrefers to a plant that is developed by plant breeding techniques (e.g.,backcrossing) or via genetic engineering wherein essentially all of thedesired morphological and physiological characteristics of a line arerecovered in addition to the single gene transferred into the line viathe plant breeding technique or via genetic engineering.

“Stipules”. A pair of leaf-like appendages borne at the base of each pealeaf or stalk.

“Substantially equivalent characteristic”. A characteristic that, whencompared, does not show a statistically significant difference (e.g.,p=0.05) from the mean.

“Transgene”. A nucleic acid of interest that can be introduced into thegenome of a plant by genetic engineering techniques (e.g.,transformation) or breeding. The transgene can be from the same or adifferent species. If from the same species, the transgene can be anadditional copy of a native coding sequence or can present the nativesequence in a form or context (e.g., different genomic location and/orin operable association with exogenous regulatory elements such as apromoter) than is found in the native state. The transgene can comprisean open reading frame encoding a polypeptide or can encode a functionalnon-translated RNA (e.g., RNAi).

Botanical Description of Snap Pea Cultivar Sugar 136.

The snap pea cultivar Sugar 136 is suitable for the processing or freshmarkets and can be compared to the snap pea cultivar Sugar Sweet(Syngenta Seeds, Inc.). Sugar 136 differs significantly from Sugar Sweetin pod length (cm) and also in its final number of nodes at maturity.When grown at two locations in Nampa, Id. in 2011, the mean pod lengthof Sugar 136 was 8.32 cm, while the mean pod length of Sugar Sweet was7.125 cm. In this same trial, the mean value for the number of nodes atmaturity within the Sugar 136 plots was 19.825, whereas the mean valuefor the number of nodes at maturity within the Sugar Sweet plots was17.075. All statistical methods were carried out with Statistics 9.0(Analytical Software, Tallahassee, Fla.) and are detailed within thefollowing tables (Tables 1 to 4).

Explanation of the Statistical Variables Used in the Following Tables1-4:

sl36_len1=Sugar 136, Pod Length (cm), Rep 1, Nampa, Id., 2011

sl36_len2=Sugar 136, Pod Length (cm), Rep 2, Nampa, Id., 2011

sweet_len1=Sugar Sweet, Pod Length (cm), Rep 1, Nampa, Id., 2011

sweet_len2=Sugar Sweet, Pod Length (cm), Rep 2, Nampa, Id., 2011

sl36_node1=Sugar 136, Final Number of Nodes, Rep 1, Nampa, Id., 2011

sl36_node2=Sugar 136, Final Number of Nodes, Rep 2, Nampa, Id., 2011

sweet_node1=Sugar Sweet, Final Number of Nodes, Rep 1, Nampa, Id., 2011

sweet_node2=Sugar Sweet, Final Number of Nodes, Rep 2, Nampa, Id., 2011

TABLE 1 SL3136 (Sugar 136) vs. Sugar Sweet-Pod Length-2011-Rep 1Descriptive Statistics Variable N Mean SD Minimum Maximum sl36_len1 208.4875 0.5286 7.5000 9.0000 sweet_len1 20 7.4250 0.4667 7.0000 8.0000One-Way AOV for: sl36_len1 sweet_len1 Source DF SS MS F P Between 111.2891 11.2891 45.41 0.0000 Within 38 9.4469 0.2486 Total 39 20.7359Grand Mean 7.9563 CV 6.27 Homogeneity of Variances F P Levene's Test0.83 0.3673 O'Brien's Test 0.79 0.3802 Brown and Forsythe Test 0.020.8812 Welch's Test for Mean Differences Source DF F P Between 1.0 45.410.0000 Within 37.4 Component of variance for between groups 0.55202Effective cell size 20.0 Variable Mean sl36_len1 8.4875 sweet_len17.4250 Observations per Mean 20 Standard Error of a Mean 0.1115 StdError (Diff of 2 Means) 0.1577 LSD All-Pairwise Comparisons TestVariable Mean Homogeneous Groups sl36_len1 8.4875 A sweet_len1 7.4250 BAlpha 0.05 Standard Error for Comparison 0.1577 Critical T 2.024Critical Value for Comparison 0.3192 Value All 2 means are significantlydifferent from one another.

TABLE 2 SL3136 (Sugar 136) vs. Sugar Sweet-Pod Length-2011-Rep 2Descriptive Statistics Variable N Mean SD Minimum Maximum sweet_len2 206.8250 0.4375 6.0000 7.5000 sl36_len2 20 8.1500 0.4323 7.5000 9.0000One-Way AOV for: sweet_len2 sl36_len2 Source DF SS MS F P Between 117.5563 17.5563 92.82 0.0000 Within 38 7.1875 0.1891 Total 39 24.7438Grand Mean 7.4875 CV 5.81 Homogeneity of Variances F P Levene's Test0.00 0.9521 O'Brien's Test 0.00 0.9534 Brown and Forsythe Test 0.050.8162 Welch's Test for Mean Differences Source DF F P Between 1.0 92.820.0000 Within 38.0 Component of variance for between groups 0.86836Effective cell size 20.0 Variable Mean sweet_len2 6.8250 sl36_len28.1500 Observations per Mean 20 Standard Error of a Mean 0.0972 StdError (Diff of 2 Means) 0.1375 LSD All-Pairwise Comparisons TestVariable Mean Homogeneous Groups sl36_len2 8.1500 A sweet_len2 6.8250 BAlpha 0.05 Standard Error for Comparison 0.1375 Critical T 2.024Critical Value for Comparison 0.2784 Value All 2 means are significantlydifferent from one another.

TABLE 3 SL3136 (Sugar 136) vs. Sugar Sweet-Node Count-2011-Rep 1Descriptive Statistics Variable N Mean SD Minimum Maximum sl36_node1 2020.200 1.7045 17.000 23.000 sweet_node1 20 16.350 1.5313 14.000 20.000One-Way AOV for: sl36_node1 sweet_node1 Source DF SS MS F P Between 1148.225 148.225 56.47 0.0000 Within 38 99.750 2.625 Total 39 247.975Grand Mean 18.275 CV 8.87 Homogeneity of Variances F P Levene's Test0.34 0.5628 O'Brien's Test 0.32 0.5734 Brown and Forsythe Test 0.200.6565 Welch's Test for Mean Differences Source DF F P Between 1.0 56.470.0000 Within 37.6 Component of variance for between groups 7.28000Effective cell size 20.0 Variable Mean sl36_node1 20.200 sweet_node116.350 Observations per Mean 20 Standard Error of a Mean 0.3623 StdError (Diff of 2 Means) 0.5123 Variable Mean Homogeneous Groupssl36_node1 20.200 A sweet_node1 16.350 B Alpha 0.05 Standard Error forComparison 0.5123 Critical T Value 2.024 Critical Value for Comparison1.0372 All 2 means are significantly different from one another.

TABLE 4 SL3136 (Sugar 136) vs. Sugar Sweet-Node Count-2011-Rep 2Descriptive Statistics Variable N Mean SD Minimum Maximum sl36_node2 2019.450 1.3169 18.000 23.000 sweet_node2 20 17.800 1.0563 15.000 19.000One-Way AOV for: sl36_node2 sweet_node2 Source DF SS MS F P Between 127.2250 27.2250 19.11 0.0001 Within 38 54.1500 1.4250 Total 39 81.3750Grand Mean 18.625 CV 6.41 Homogeneity of Variances F P Levene's Test0.64 0.4287 O'Brien's Test 0.61 0.4411 Brown and Forsythe Test 2.010.1643 Welch's Test for Mean Differences Source DF F P Between 1.0 19.110.0001 Within 36.3 Component of variance for between groups 1.29000Effective cell size 20.0 Variable Mean sl36_node2 19.450 sweet_node217.800 Observations per Mean 20 Standard Error of a Mean 0.2669 StdError (Diff of 2 Means) 0.3775 LSD All-Pairwise Comparisons TestVariable Mean Homogeneous Groups sl36_node2 19.450 A sweet_node2 17.800B Alpha 0.05 Standard Error for Comparison 0.3775 Critical T Value 2.024Critical Value for Comparison 0.7642 All 2 means are significantlydifferent from one another.

Further Embodiments of the Invention

With the advent of molecular biological techniques that have allowed theisolation and characterization of genes that encode specific proteinproducts, scientists in the field of plant biology developed a stronginterest in engineering the genome of plants to contain and expressforeign nucleic acids including additional or modified versions ofnative (endogenous) nucleic acids (optionally driven by a non-nativepromoter) in order to alter the traits of a plant in a specific manner.Any nucleic acid sequences, whether from a different species or from thesame species, which are introduced into the genome using transformationor various breeding methods, are referred to herein collectively as“transgenes.” Over the last fifteen to twenty years, several methods forproducing transgenic plants have been developed, and in particularembodiments the present invention also relates to transformed versionsof pea plants disclosed herein.

Genetic engineering techniques can be used (alone or in combination withbreeding methods) to introduce one or more desired added traits intoplant, for example, pea cultivar Sugar 136 or progeny or pea plantsderived thereof.

Plant transformation generally involves the construction of anexpression vector that will function in plant cells. Optionally, such avector comprises one or more nucleic acids comprising a coding sequencefor a polypeptide or an untranslated functional RNA under control of, oroperatively linked to, a regulatory element (for example, a promoter).In representative embodiments, the vector(s) may be in the form of aplasmid, and can be used alone or in combination with other plasmids, toprovide transformed pea plants using transformation methods as describedherein to incorporate transgenes into the genetic material of the peaplant.

Additional methods include, but are not limited to, expression vectorsintroduced into plant tissues using a direct nucleic acid transfermethod, such as microprojectile-mediated delivery (e.g., with abiolistic device), DNA injection, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation,electroporation, and the like. Transformed plants obtained from theplants (and parts and tissue culture thereof) of the invention areintended to be within the scope of this invention.

Expression Vectors for Plant Transformation—Selectable Markers.

Expression vectors typically include at least one nucleic acidcomprising or encoding a selectable marker, operably linked to aregulatory element (for example, a promoter) that allows transformedcells containing the marker to be either recovered by negativeselection, e.g., inhibiting growth of cells that do not contain theselectable marker, or by positive selection, e.g., screening for theproduct encoded by the selectable marker. Many commonly used selectablemarkers for plant transformation are well known in the transformationart, and include, for example, nucleic acids that code for enzymes thatmetabolically detoxify a selective chemical agent which may be anantibiotic or an herbicide, or nucleic acids that encode an alteredtarget which is insensitive to the inhibitor. Positive selection methodsare also known in the art.

One commonly used selectable marker for plant transformation is aneomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) coding sequence, for example,isolated from transposon Tn5, which when placed under the control ofplant regulatory signals confers resistance to kanamycin. Fraley, etal., PNAS, 80:4803 (1983). Another commonly used selectable marker ishygromycin phosphotransferase, which confers resistance to theantibiotic hygromycin. Vanden Elzen, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 5:299(1985).

Additional selectable markers of bacterial origin that confer resistanceto antibiotics include gentamycin acetyl transferase, streptomycinphosphotransferase, aminoglycoside-3′-adenyl transferase, the bleomycinresistance determinant. Hayford, et al., Plant Physiol., 86:1216 (1988);Jones, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 210:86 (1987); Svab, et al., Plant Mol.Biol., 14:197 (1990); Hille, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 7:171 (1986).Other selectable markers confer resistance to herbicides such asglyphosate, glufosinate, or bromoxynil. Comai, et al., Nature,317:741-744 (1985); Gordon-Kamm, et al., Plant Cell, 2:603-618 (1990);and Stalker, et al., Science, 242:419-423 (1988).

Selectable markers for plant transformation that are not of bacterialorigin include, for example, mouse dihydrofolate reductase, plant5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase, and plant acetolactatesynthase. Eichholtz, et al., Somatic Cell Mol. Genet., 13:67 (1987);Shah, et al., Science, 233:478 (1986); and Charest, et al., Plant CellRep., 8:643 (1990).

Another class of selectable marker for plant transformation involvesscreening of presumptively transformed plant cells rather than directgenetic selection of transformed cells for resistance to a toxicsubstance such as an antibiotic. These selectable markers areparticularly useful to quantify or visualize the spatial pattern ofexpression of a transgene in specific tissues and are frequentlyreferred to as a reporter gene because they can be fused to transgene orregulatory sequence for the investigation of nucleic acid expression.Commonly used reporters for screening presumptively transformed cellsinclude alpha-glucuronidase (GUS), alpha-galactosidase, luciferase andchloramphenicol, acetyltransferase. Jefferson, R. A., Plant Mol. Biol.,5:387 (1987); Teeri, et al., EMBO J., 8:343 (1989); Koncz, et al., PNAS,84:131 (1987); and DeBlock, et al., EMBO J., 3:1681 (1984).

In vivo methods for visualizing GUS activity that do not requiredestruction of plant tissues are available. Molecular Probes,Publication 2908, IMAGENE GREEN, pp. 1-4 (1993) and Naleway, et al., J.Cell Biol., 115:151a (1991).

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is also utilized as a marker for nucleicacid expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Chalfie, et al.,Science, 263:802 (1994). GFP and mutants of GFP may be used asscreenable markers.

Expression Vectors for Plant Transformation—Promoters.

Transgenes included in expression vectors are generally driven by anucleotide sequence comprising a regulatory element (for example, apromoter). Numerous types of promoters are well known in thetransformation arts, as are other regulatory elements that can be usedalone or in combination with promoters.

As used herein, “promoter” includes reference to a region of DNAupstream from the start of transcription and involved in recognition andbinding of RNA polymerase and other proteins to initiate transcription.A “plant promoter” is a promoter capable of initiating transcription inplant cells.

Examples of promoters under developmental control include promoters thatpreferentially initiate transcription in certain tissues, such asleaves, roots, seeds, fibers, xylem vessels, tracheids, or sclerenchyma.Such promoters are referred to as “tissue-preferred.” Promoters thatinitiate transcription only in certain tissue are referred to as“tissue-specific.” A “cell type” specific promoter preferentially drivesexpression in certain cell types in one or more organs, for example,vascular cells in roots or leaves. An “inducible” promoter is a promoterthat is under environmental control. Examples of environmentalconditions that may affect transcription by inducible promoters includeanaerobic conditions or the presence of light. Tissue-specific,tissue-preferred, cell type specific, and inducible promoters constitutethe class of “non-constitutive” promoters. A “constitutive” promoter isa promoter that is active under most environmental conditions.

A. Inducible Promoters:

An inducible promoter is operably linked to a nucleic acid forexpression in a plant. Optionally, the inducible promoter is operablylinked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which isoperably linked to a nucleic acid for expression in the plant. With aninducible promoter, the rate of transcription increases in response toan inducing agent.

Any inducible promoter can be used in the instant invention. See Ward,et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 22:361-366 (1993). Exemplary induciblepromoters include, but are not limited to, that from the ACEI systemwhich responds to copper (Melt, et al., PNAS, 90:4567-4571 (1993));promoter from the In2 gene from maize which responds tobenzenesulfonamide herbicide safeners (Hershey, et al., Mol. Gen.Genet., 227:229-237 (1991) and Gatz, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 243:32-38(1994)) or Tet repressor from Tn10 (Gatz, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet.,227:229-237 (1991)). A representative inducible promoter is a promoterthat responds to an inducing agent to which plants do not normallyrespond. An exemplary inducible promoter is the inducible promoter froma steroid hormone gene, the transcriptional activity of which is inducedby a glucocorticosteroid hormone. Schena, et al., PNAS, 88:0421 (1991).

B. Constitutive Promoters:

A constitutive promoter is operably linked to a nucleic acid forexpression in a plant or the constitutive promoter is operably linked toa nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operablylinked to a nucleic acid for expression in a plant.

Many different constitutive promoters can be utilized in the instantinvention. Exemplary constitutive promoters include, but are not limitedto, the promoters from plant viruses such as the 35S promoter from CaMV(Odell, et al., Nature, 313:810-812 (1985)) and the promoters from suchgenes as rice actin (McElroy, et al., Plant Cell, 2:163-171 (1990));ubiquitin (Christensen, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 12:619-632 (1989) andChristensen, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 18:675-689 (1992)); pEMU (Last,et al., Theor. Appl. Genet., 81:581-588 (1991)); MAS (Velten, et al.,EMBO J., 3:2723-2730 (1984)) and maize H3 histone (Lepetit, et al., Mol.Gen. Genet., 231:276-285 (1992) and Atanassova, et al., Plant J., 2(3):291-300 (1992)). The ALS promoter, XbaI/NcoI fragment 5′ to theBrassica napus ALS3 structural gene (or a nucleotide sequence similarityto said XbaI/NcoI fragment), represents a particularly usefulconstitutive promoter. See PCT Application No. WO 96/30530.

C. Tissue-Specific or Tissue-Preferred Promoters:

A tissue-specific promoter is operably linked to a nucleic acid forexpression in a plant. Optionally, the tissue-specific promoter isoperably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequencewhich is operably linked to a nucleic acid for expression in a plant.Plants transformed with a nucleic acid of interest operably linked to atissue-specific promoter transcribe the nucleic acid of interestexclusively, or preferentially, in a specific tissue.

Any tissue-specific or tissue-preferred promoter can be utilized in theinstant invention. Exemplary tissue-specific or tissue-preferredpromoters include, but are not limited to, a root-preferred promoter,such as that from the phaseolin gene (Murai, et al., Science, 23:476-482(1983) and Sengupta-Gopalan, et al., PNAS, 82:3320-3324 (1985)); aleaf-specific and light-induced promoter such as that from cab orrubisco (Simpson, et al., EMBO J., 4(11):2723-2729 (1985) and Timko, etal., Nature, 318:579-582 (1985)); an anther-specific promoter such asthat from LAT52 (Twell, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 217:240-245 (1989)); apollen-specific promoter such as that from Zm13 (Guerrero, et al., Mol.Gen. Genet., 244:161-168 (1993)) or a microspore-preferred promoter suchas that from apg (Twell, et al., Sex. Plant Reprod., 6:217-224 (1993)).

Signal Sequences for Targeting Proteins to Subcellular Compartments.

Transport of polypeptides produced by transgenes to a subcellularcompartment such as the chloroplast, vacuole, peroxisome, glyoxysome,cell wall, or mitochondrion, or for secretion into the apoplast, isgenerally accomplished by means of operably linking a nucleotidesequence encoding a signal sequence to the 5′ and/or 3′ region of anucleic acid encoding the polypeptide of interest. Signal sequences atthe 5′ and/or 3′ end of the coding sequence target the polypeptide toparticular subcellular compartments.

The presence of a signal sequence can direct a polypeptide to either anintracellular organelle or subcellular compartment or for secretion tothe apoplast. Many signal sequences are known in the art. See, forexample, Becker, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 20:49 (1992); Close, P. S.,Master's Thesis, Iowa State University (1993); Knox, C., et al.,“Structure and Organization of Two Divergent Alpha-Amylase Genes fromBarley,” Plant Mol. Biol., 9:3-17 (1987); Lerner, et al., PlantPhysiol., 91:124-129 (1989); Fontes, et al., Plant Cell, 3:483-496(1991); Matsuoka, et al., PNAS, 88:834 (1991); Gould, et al., J. Cell.Biol., 108:1657 (1989); Creissen, et al., Plant J, 2:129 (1991);Kalderon, et al., A short amino acid sequence able to specify nuclearlocation, Cell, 39:499-509 (1984); and Steifel, et al., Expression of amaize cell wall hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein gene in early leaf androot vascular differentiation, Plant Cell, 2:785-793 (1990).

Foreign Polypeptide Transgenes and Agronomic Transgenes.

With transgenic plants according to the present invention, a foreignprotein can be produced in commercial quantities. Thus, techniques forthe selection and propagation of transformed plants, which are wellunderstood in the art, yield a plurality of transgenic plants which areharvested in a conventional manner, and a foreign polypeptide then canbe extracted from a tissue of interest or from total biomass. Proteinextraction from plant biomass can be accomplished by known methods whichare discussed, for example, by Heney and Orr, Anal. Biochem., 114:92-6(1981).

According to a representative embodiment, the transgenic plant providedfor commercial production of foreign protein is a pea plant of theinvention. In another embodiment, the biomass of interest is seed. Forthe relatively small number of transgenic plants that show higher levelsof expression, a genetic map can be generated, for example viaconventional RFLP, PCR, and SSR analysis, which identifies theapproximate chromosomal location of the integrated DNA molecule. Forexemplary methodologies in this regard, see Methods in Plant MolecularBiology and Biotechnology, Glick and Thompson Eds., 269:284, CRC Press,Boca Raton (1993). Map information concerning chromosomal location isuseful for proprietary protection of a subject transgenic plant. Ifunauthorized propagation is undertaken and crosses made with othergermplasm, the map of the integration region can be compared to similarmaps for suspect plants, to determine if the latter have a commonparentage with the subject plant. Map comparisons can involvehybridizations, RFLP, PCR, SSR, and sequencing, all of which areconventional techniques.

Likewise, by means of the present invention, agronomic transgenes andother desired added traits can be expressed in transformed plants (andtheir progeny, e.g., produced by breeding methods). More particularly,plants can be genetically engineered to express various phenotypes ofagronomic interest or other desired added traits. Exemplary nucleicacids of interest in this regard conferring a desired added trait(s)include, but are not limited to, those categorized below:

A. Transgenes that Confer Resistance to Pests or Disease:

1. Plant disease resistance transgenes. Plant defenses are oftenactivated by specific interaction between the product of a diseaseresistance gene (R) in the plant and the product of a correspondingavirulence (Avr) gene in the pathogen. A plant line can be transformedwith a cloned resistance transgene to engineer plants that are resistantto specific pathogen strains. See, for example, Jones, et al., Science,266:789 (1994) (cloning of the tomato Cf-9 gene for resistance toCladosporium fulvum); Martin, et al., Science, 262:1432 (1993) (tomatoPto gene for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato encodes aprotein kinase); and Mindrinos, et al., Cell, 78:1089 (1994)(Arabidopsis RSP2 gene for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae).

2. A Bacillus thuringiensis protein, a derivative thereof, or asynthetic polypeptide modeled thereon. See, for example, Geiser, et al.,Gene, 48:109 (1986), who disclose the cloning and nucleotide sequence ofa Bt delta-endotoxin gene. Moreover, DNA molecules encodingdelta-endotoxin transgenes can be purchased from American Type CultureCollection, Manassas, Va., for example, under ATCC Accession Nos. 40098,67136, 31995, and 31998.

3. A lectin. See, for example, the disclosure by Van Damme, et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 24:25 (1994), who disclose the nucleotide sequences ofseveral Clivia miniata mannose-binding lectin transgenes.

4. A vitamin-binding protein such as avidin. See, e.g., PCT ApplicationNo. US 93/06487. The application teaches the use of avidin and avidinhomologues as larvicides against insect pests.

5. An enzyme inhibitor, for example, a protease or proteinase inhibitor,or an amylase inhibitor. See, for example, Abe, et al., J. Biol. Chem.,262:16793 (1987) (nucleotide sequence of rice cysteine proteinaseinhibitor); Huub, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 21:985 (1993) (nucleotidesequence of cDNA encoding tobacco proteinase inhibitor I); and Sumitani,et al., Biosci. Biotech. Biochem., 57:1243 (1993) (nucleotide sequenceof Streptomyces nitrosporeus alpha-amylase inhibitor).

6. An insect-specific hormone or pheromone, such as an ecdysteroid andjuvenile hormone, a variant thereof, a mimetic based thereon, or anantagonist or agonist thereof. See, for example, the disclosure byHammock, et al., Nature, 344:458 (1990), of baculovirus expression ofcloned juvenile hormone esterase, an inactivator of juvenile hormone.

7. An insect-specific peptide or neuropeptide which, upon expression,disrupts the physiology of the affected pest. For example, see thedisclosures of Regan, J. Biol. Chem., 269:9 (1994) (expression cloningyields DNA coding for insect diuretic hormone receptor) and Pratt, etal., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm., 163:1243 (1989) (an allostatin isidentified in Diploptera puntata). See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,317 toTomalski, et al., who disclose transgenes encoding insect-specific,paralytic neurotoxins.

8. An insect-specific venom produced in nature, by a snake, a wasp, etc.For example, see Pang, et al, Gene, 116:165 (1992), for disclosure ofheterologous expression in plants of a transgene coding for a scorpioninsectotoxic peptide.

9. An enzyme responsible for a hyper-accumulation of a monoterpene, asesquiterpene, a steroid, hydroxamic acid, a phenylpropanoid derivative,or another non-protein molecule with insecticidal activity.

10. An enzyme involved in the modification, including thepost-translational modification, of a biologically active molecule; forexample, a glycolytic enzyme, a proteolytic enzyme, a lipolytic enzyme,a nuclease, a cyclase, a transaminase, an esterase, a hydrolase, aphosphatase, a kinase, a phosphorylase, a polymerase, an elastase, achitinase, and a glucanase, whether natural or synthetic. See PCTApplication No. WO 93/02197 in the name of Scott, et al., whichdiscloses the nucleotide sequence of a callase transgene. DNA moleculeswhich contain chitinase-encoding sequences can be obtained, for example,from the ATCC under Accession Nos. 39637 and 67152. See also, Kramer, etal., Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol., 23:691 (1993), who teach the nucleotidesequence of a cDNA encoding tobacco hornworm chitinase, and Kawalleck,et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 21:673 (1993), who provide the nucleotidesequence of the parsley ubi4-2 polyubiquitin transgene.

11. A molecule that stimulates signal transduction. For example, see thedisclosure by Botella, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 24:757 (1994), ofnucleotide sequences for mung bean calmodulin cDNA clones, and Griess,et al., Plant Physiol., 104:1467 (1994), who provide the nucleotidesequence of a maize calmodulin cDNA clone.

12. A hydrophobic moment peptide. See PCT Application No. WO 95/16776(disclosure of peptide derivatives of tachyplesin which inhibit fungalplant pathogens) and PCT Application No. WO 95/18855 (teaches syntheticantimicrobial peptides that confer disease resistance).

13. A membrane permease, a channel former, or a channel blocker. Forexample, see the disclosure of Jaynes, et al., Plant Sci., 89:43 (1993),of heterologous expression of a cecropin-beta, lytic peptide analog torender transgenic tobacco plants resistant to Pseudomonas solanacearum.

14. A viral-invasive protein or a complex toxin derived therefrom. Forexample, the accumulation of viral coat proteins in transformed plantcells imparts resistance to viral infection and/or disease developmenteffected by the virus from which the coat protein transgene is derived,as well as by related viruses. See Beachy, et al., Ann. Rev.Phytopathol., 28:451 (1990). Coat protein-mediated resistance has beenconferred upon transformed plants against alfalfa mosaic virus, cucumbermosaic virus, tobacco streak virus, potato virus X, potato virus Y,tobacco etch virus, tobacco rattle virus, and tobacco mosaic virus. Id.

15. An insect-specific antibody or an immunotoxin derived therefrom.Thus, an antibody targeted to a critical metabolic function in theinsect gut would inactivate an affected enzyme, killing the insect. SeeTaylor, et al., Abstract #497, Seventh Intl Symposium on MolecularPlant-Microbe Interactions, Edinburgh, Scotland (1994) (enzymaticinactivation in transgenic tobacco via production of single-chainantibody fragments).

16. A virus-specific antibody. See, for example, Tavladoraki, et al.,Nature, 366:469 (1993), who show that transgenic plants expressingrecombinant antibody transgenes are protected from virus attack.

17. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a pathogenor a parasite. Thus, fungal endo-alpha-1,4-D-polygalacturonasesfacilitate fungal colonization and plant nutrient released bysolubilizing plant cell wall homo-alpha-1,4-D-galacturonase. See Lamb,et al., Bio/technology, 10:1436 (1992). The cloning and characterizationof a transgene which encodes a bean endopolygalacturonase-inhibitingprotein is described by Toubart, et al., Plant J., 2:367 (1992).

18. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a plant. Forexample, Logemann, et al., Bio/technology, 10:305 (1992), have shownthat transgenic plants expressing the barley ribosome-inactivatingtransgene have an increased resistance to fungal disease.

19. A lettuce mosaic potyvirus (LMV) coat protein transgene introducedinto Lactuca sativa in order to increase its resistance to LMVinfection. See Dinant, et al., Mol. Breeding, 3:1, 75-86 (1997).

Any disease or present resistance transgenes, including thoseexemplified above, can be introduced into a pea plant of the inventionthrough a variety of means including but not limited to transformationand breeding.

B. Transgenes that Confer Resistance to an Herbicide:

Exemplary polynucleotides encoding polypeptides that confer traitsdesirable for herbicide resistance include acetolactate synthase (ALS)mutants that lead to herbicide resistance such as the S4 and/or Hramutations ((resistance to herbicides including sulfonylureas,imidazolinones, triazolopyrimidines, pyrimidinyl thiobenzoates);glyphosate resistance (e.g.,5-enol-pyrovyl-shikimate-3-phosphate-synthase (EPSPS) transgene,including but not limited to those described in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,940,935, 5,188,642, 5,633,435, 6,566,587, 7,674,598 as well as allrelated application; or the glyphosate N-acetyltransferase (GAT)transgene, described in Castle et al., Science, 2004, 304:1151-1154; andin U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 20070004912, 20050246798,and 20050060767)); glufosinate resistance (e.g., BAR; see e.g., U.S.Pat. No. 5,561,236); 2,4-D resistance (e.g., aryloxy alkanoatedioxygenase or AAD-1, AAD-12, or AAD-13), HPPD resistance (e.g.,Pseudomonas HPPD) and PPO resistance (e.g., fomesafen,acifluorfen-sodium, oxyfluorfen, lactofen, fluthiacet-methyl,saflufenacil, flumioxazin, flumiclorac-pentyl, carfentrazone-ethyl,sulfentrazone); a cytochrome P450 or variant thereof that confersherbicide resistance or tolerance to, inter alia, HPPD-inhibitingherbicides, PPO-inhibiting herbicides and ALS-inhibiting herbicides(U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20090011936; U.S. Pat. Nos.6,380,465; 6,121,512; 5,349,127; 6,649,814; and 6,300,544; and PCTInternational Publication No. WO 2007/000077); dicamba resistance (e.g.,dicamba monoxygenase), and traits desirable for processing or processproducts such as high oil (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,529); modified oils(e.g., fatty acid desaturase transgenes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,544; PCTInternational Publication No. WO 94/11516)); modified starches (e.g.,ADPG pyrophosphorylases (AGPase), starch synthases (SS), starchbranching enzymes (SBE), and starch debranching enzymes (SDBE)); andpolymers or bioplastics (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,321;beta-ketothiolase, polyhydroxybutyrate synthase, and acetoacetyl-CoAreductase (Schubert et al., J. Bacteriol., 1988, 170:5837-5847)facilitate expression of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)).

In embodiments, the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide conferringresistance to an herbicide selected from glyphosate, sulfonylurea,imidazolinone, dicamba, glufosinate, phenoxy proprionic acid,L-phosphinothricin, cyclohexone, cyclohexanedione, triazine, andbenzonitrile.

Any transgene conferring herbicide resistance, including thoseexemplified above, can be introduced into the pea plants of theinvention through a variety of means including, but not limited to,transformation (e.g., genetic engineering techniques) and crossing.

C. Transgenes that Confer or Contribute to a Value-Added Trait:

1. Increased iron content of the pea, for example, by introducing into aplant a soybean ferritin transgene as described in Goto, et al., ActaHorticulturae., 521, 101-109 (2000).

2. Decreased nitrate content of leaves, for example, by introducing intoa pea a transgene coding for a nitrate reductase. See, for example,Curtis, et al., Plant Cell Rep., 18:11, 889-896 (1999).

3. Increased sweetness of the pea by introducing a transgene coding formonellin that elicits a flavor 100,000 times sweeter than sugar on amolar basis. See Penarrubia, et al., Bio/technology, 10:561-564 (1992).

4. Modified fatty acid metabolism, for example, by introducing into aplant an antisense sequence directed against stearyl-ACP desaturase toincrease stearic acid content of the plant. See Knultzon, et al., PNAS,89:2625 (1992).

5. Modified carbohydrate composition effected, for example, byintroducing into plants a transgene coding for an enzyme that alters thebranching pattern of starch. See Shiroza, et al., J. Bacteria, 170:810(1988) (nucleotide sequence of Streptococcus mutantsfructosyltransferase transgene); Steinmetz, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet.,20:220 (1985) (nucleotide sequence of Bacillus subtilis levansucrasetransgene); Pen, et al., Bio/technology, 10:292 (1992) (production oftransgenic plants that express Bacillus lichenifonnis alpha-amylase);Elliot, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 21:515 (1993) (nucleotide sequences oftomato invertase transgenes); Sogaard, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 268:22480(1993) (site-directed mutagenesis of barley alpha-amylase transgene);and Fisher, et al., Plant Physiol., 102:1045 (1993) (maize endospermstarch branching enzyme II).

6. Delayed and/or attenuated symptoms to Bean Golden Mosaic Geminivirus(BGMV), for example by transforming a plant with antisense genes fromthe Brazilian BGMV. See Arago et al., Molecular Breeding. 1998, 4: 6,491-499.

7. Increased methionine content by introducing a transgene coding for amethionine-rich storage albumin (2S-albumin) from the Brazil nut, e.g.,as described in Arago et al., Genetics and Molecular Biology. 1999, 22:3, 445-449.

Any transgene that confers or contributes a value-added trait, includingthose exemplified above, can be introduced into the pea plants of theinvention through a variety of means including, but not limited to,transformation (e.g., genetic engineering techniques) and crossing.

D. Transgenes that Control Male-Sterility:

1. Introduction of a deacetylase transgene under the control of atapetum-specific promoter and with the application of the chemicalN-Ac-PPT. See, e.g., International Publication WO 01/29237.

2. Introduction of various stamen-specific promoters. See, e.g.,International Publications WO 92/13956 and WO 92/13957.

3. Introduction of the barnase and the barstar transgenes. See, e.g.,Paul, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 19:611-622 (1992).

Any transgene that controls male sterility, including those exemplifiedabove, can be introduced into the pea plants of the invention through avariety of means including, but not limited to, transformation (e.g.,genetic engineering techniques) and crossing.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of the traitsdescribed above with respect to plant transformation methods can beintroduced into a plant of the invention (e.g., pea cultivar Sugar 136and hybrid pea plants and other pea plants derived therefrom) usingbreeding techniques.

Methods for Plant Transformation.

Numerous methods for plant transformation have been developed, includingbiological and physical, plant transformation protocols. See, forexample, Miki, et al., “Procedures for Introducing Foreign DNA intoPlants” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Glickand Thompson Eds., CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, pp. 67-88 (1993). Inaddition, expression vectors and in vitro culture methods for plant cellor tissue transformation and regeneration of plants are available. See,for example, Gruber, et al., “Vectors for Plant Transformation” inMethods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Glick and ThompsonEds., CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, pp. 89-119 (1993).

A. Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation.

One method for introducing an expression vector into plants is based onthe natural transformation system of Agrobacterium. See, for example,Horsch, et al., Science, 227:1229 (1985); Curtis, et al., Journal ofExperimental Botany, 45:279, 1441-1449 (1994); Torres, et al., PlantCell Tissue and Organ Culture, 34:3, 279-285 (1993); and Dinant, et al.,Molecular Breeding, 3:1, 75-86 (1997). A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenesare plant pathogenic soil bacteria which genetically transform plantcells. The Ti and Ri plasmids of A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes,respectively, carry genes responsible for genetic transformation of theplant. See, for example, Kado, C. I., Crit. Rev. Plant Sci., 10:1(1991). Descriptions of Agrobacterium vector systems and methods forAgrobacterium-mediated transgene transfer are provided by Gruber, etal., supra, Miki, et al., supra, and Moloney, et al., Plant Cell Rep.,8:238 (1989). See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,616 issued Jan. 7, 1997.

B. Direct Transgene Transfer.

Several methods of plant transformation collectively referred to asdirect transgene transfer have been developed as an alternative toAgrobacterium-mediated transformation. A generally applicable method ofplant transformation is microprojectile-mediated transformation whereinDNA is carried on the surface of microprojectiles measuring 1 micron to4 micron. The expression vector is introduced into plant tissues with abiolistic device that accelerates the microprojectiles to speeds of 300m/s to 600 m/s which is sufficient to penetrate plant cell walls andmembranes. Russell, D. R., et al., Plant Cell Rep., 12 (3, January),165-169 (1993); Aragao, F. J. L., et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 20 (2,October), 357-359 (1992); Aragao, F. J. L., et al., Plant Cell Rep., 12(9, July), 483-490 (1993); Aragao, Theor. Appl. Genet., 93:142-150(1996); Kim, J., Minamikawa, T., Plant Sci., 117:131-138 (1996);Sanford, et al., Part. Sci. Technol., 5:27 (1987); Sanford, J. C.,Trends Biotech., 6:299 (1988); Klein, et al., Bio/technology, 6:559-563(1988); Sanford, J. C., Physiol. Plant, 7:206 (1990); Klein, et al.,Bio/technology, 10:268 (1992).

Another method for physical delivery of DNA to plants is sonication oftarget cells. Zhang, et al., Bio/technology, 9:996 (1991).Alternatively, liposome and spheroplast fusion have been used tointroduce expression vectors into plants. Deshayes, et al., EMBO J.,4:2731 (1985) and Christou, et al., PNAS, 84:3962 (1987). Direct uptakeof DNA into protoplasts using CaCl.sub.2 precipitation, polyvinylalcohol, or poly-L-ornithine has also been reported. Hain, et al., Mol.Gen. Genet., 199:161 (1985) and Draper, et al., Plant Cell Physiol.,23:451 (1982). Electroporation of protoplasts and whole cells andtissues have also been described. Saker, M., Kuhne, T., BiologiaPlantarum, 40(4):507-514 (1997/98); Donn, et al., In Abstracts of VIIthInternational Congress on Plant Cell and Tissue Culture IAPTC, A2-38, p.53 (1990); D'Halluin, et al., Plant Cell, 4:1495-1505 (1992); andSpencer, et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 24:51-61 (1994). See also Chupean, etal., Bio/technology, 7:5, 503-508 (1989).

Following transformation of plant target tissues, expression of theabove-described selectable marker transgenes allows for preferentialselection of transformed cells, tissues and/or plants, usingregeneration and selection methods now well known in the art.

The foregoing methods for transformation would typically be used forproducing a transgenic pea line. The transgenic pea line could then becrossed with another (non-transformed or transformed) line in order toproduce a new transgenic pea line. Alternatively, a genetic trait thathas been engineered into a particular plant cultivar using the foregoingtransformation techniques could be introduced into another line usingtraditional breeding (e.g., backcrossing) techniques that are well knownin the plant breeding arts. For example, a backcrossing approach couldbe used to move an engineered trait from a public, non-elite inbred lineinto an elite inbred line, or from an inbred line containing a foreigntransgene in its genome into an inbred line or lines which do notcontain that transgene.

Gene Conversions.

When the term “pea plant” is used in the context of the presentinvention, this term also includes any gene conversions of that plant orvariety. The term “gene converted plant” as used herein refers to thosepea plants that are developed, for example, by backcrossing, geneticengineering and/or mutation, wherein essentially all of the desiredmorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety (e.g., asdescribed herein, in particular, in Tables 1-4) are recovered inaddition to the one or more genes transferred into the variety. Toillustrate, backcrossing methods can be used with the present inventionto improve or introduce a characteristic into the variety. The term“backcrossing” as used herein refers to the repeated crossing of ahybrid progeny back to the recurrent parent, e.g., backcrossing 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or more times to the recurrent parent. The parentalplant that contributes the gene for the desired characteristic is termedthe “nonrecurrent” or “donor parent.” This terminology refers to thefact that the nonrecurrent parent is generally used one time in thebreeding e.g., backcross) protocol and therefore does not recur. Thegene that is transferred can be a native gene, a mutated native gene ora transgene introduced by genetic engineering techniques into the plant(or ancestor thereof). The parental plant into which the gene(s) fromthe nonrecurrent parent are transferred is known as the “recurrent”parent as it is used for multiple rounds in the backcrossing protocol.Poehlman & Sleper (1994) and Fehr (1993). In a typical backcrossprotocol, the original variety of interest (recurrent parent) is crossedto a second variety (nonrecurrent parent) that carries the gene(s) ofinterest to be transferred. The resulting progeny from this cross arethen crossed again to the recurrent parent and the process is repeateduntil a plant is obtained wherein essentially all of the desiredmorphological and physiological characteristics of the recurrent parentare recovered in the converted plant in addition to the transferredgene(s) and associated trait(s) from the nonrecurrent parent.

Many gene traits have been identified that can be improved bybackcrossing techniques. Gene traits may or may not be transgenic.Examples of these traits include, but are not limited to, malesterility, modified fatty acid metabolism, modified carbohydratemetabolism, herbicide resistance, pest or disease resistance (e.g.,resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease), insect resistance,enhanced nutritional quality, increased sweetness, increased flavor,improved ripening control, improved salt tolerance, industrial usage,yield stability, and yield enhancement. These genes are generallyinherited through the nucleus.

Tissue Culture.

Further reproduction of pea plants variety can occur by tissue cultureand regeneration. Tissue culture of various tissues of pea andregeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published. Forexample, reference may be had to Teng, et al., HortScience, 27:9,1030-1032 (1992); Teng, et al., HortScience, 28:6, 669-1671 (1993);Zhang, et al., Journal of Genetics and Breeding, 46:3, 287-290 (1992);Webb, et al., Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture, 38:1, 77-79 (1994);Curtis, et al., Journal of Experimental Botany, 45:279, 1441-1449(1994); Nagata, et al., Journal for the American Society forHorticultural Science, 125:6, 669-672 (2000); and Ibrahim, et al., PlantCell Tissue and Organ Culture, 28(2), 139-145 (1992). It is clear fromthe literature that the state of the art is such that these methods ofobtaining plants are routinely used and have a very high rate ofsuccess. Thus, another aspect of this invention is to provide cellswhich upon growth and differentiation produce pea plants having desiredcharacteristics of pea cultivar Sugar 136 (e.g., as described herein, inparticular, in Tables 1-4). Optionally, pea plants can be regeneratedfrom the tissue culture of the invention comprising all or essentiallyall of the physiological and morphological characteristics of peacultivar Sugar 136.

As used herein, the term “tissue culture” indicates a compositioncomprising isolated cells of the same or a different type or acollection of such cells organized into parts of a plant. Exemplarytypes of tissue cultures are protoplasts, calli, meristematic cells, andplant cells that can generate tissue culture that are intact in plantsor parts of plants, such as leaves, pollen, embryos, roots, root tips,anthers, pistils, flowers, seeds, petioles, suckers, pods, berries, andthe like. Means for preparing and maintaining plant tissue culture arewell known in the art. By way of example, a tissue culture comprisingorgans has been used to produce regenerated plants. U.S. Pat. Nos.5,959,185, 5,973,234, and 5,977,445 describe certain techniques.

Additional Breeding Methods.

This invention is also directed to methods for producing a pea plant bycrossing a first parent pea plant with a second parent pea plant whereinthe first or second parent pea plant is a plant of pea cultivar Sugar136. Further, both first and second parent pea plant can come from peacultivar Sugar 136. Thus, any of the following exemplary methods usingpea cultivar Sugar 136 are part of this invention: selfing, backcrosses,hybrid production, crosses to populations, double haploid production,and the like. All plants produced using pea cultivar Sugar 136 as atleast one parent are within the scope of this invention, including thosedeveloped from pea plants derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136.Advantageously, pea cultivar Sugar 136 can be used in crosses withother, different, pea plants to produce the first generation (F₁) peahybrid seeds and plants with desirable characteristics. The pea plantsof the invention can also be used for transformation where exogenoustransgenes are introduced and expressed by the plants of the invention.Genetic variants created either through traditional breeding methods orthrough transformation of the cultivars of the invention by any of anumber of protocols known to those of skill in the art are intended tobe within the scope of this invention.

The following describes exemplary breeding methods that may be used withpea cultivar Sugar 136 in the development of further pea plants. Onesuch embodiment is a method for developing pea cultivar Sugar 136progeny pea plants in a pea plant breeding program comprising: obtaininga plant, or a part thereof, of pea cultivar Sugar 136, utilizing saidplant or plant part as a source of breeding material, and selecting apea cultivar Sugar 136 progeny plant with molecular markers in commonwith pea cultivar Sugar 136 and/or with some, all or essentially allmorphological and/or physiological characteristics of pea cultivar Sugar136 (e.g., as described herein, in particular, in Tables 1-4). Inrepresentative embodiments, the progeny plant has at least 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of pea cultivar Sugar 136 (e.g., as described herein, inparticular, in Tables 1-4), or even all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of pea cultivar Sugar 136 so that saidprogeny pea plant is not significantly different for said traits thanpea cultivar Sugar 136, as determined at the 5% significance level whengrown in the same environmental conditions; optionally, with thepresence of one or more desired additional traits (e.g., male sterility,disease resistance, pest or insect resistance, herbicide resistance, andthe like). Breeding steps that may be used in the breeding programinclude pedigree breeding, backcrossing, mutation breeding and/orrecurrent selection. In conjunction with these steps, techniques such asRFLP-enhanced selection, genetic marker enhanced selection (for example,SSR markers) and/or and the making of double haploids may be utilized.

Another representative method involves producing a population of peacultivar Sugar 136 progeny plants, comprising crossing pea cultivarSugar 136 with another pea plant, thereby producing a population of peaplants that, on average, derives at least about 6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, 30%,35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%,98% or 99% of its alleles from pea cultivar Sugar 136, e.g., at leastabout 6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%,80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% of the genetic complement ofpea cultivar Sugar 136. One embodiment of this invention is the peaplant produced by this method and that has obtained at least 6.25%,12.5%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%,95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% of its alleles from pea cultivar Sugar 136. Aplant of this population may be selected and repeatedly selfed or sibbedwith a pea plant resulting from these successive filial generations.Another approach is to make double haploid plants to achievehomozygosity.

One of ordinary skill in the art of plant breeding would know how toevaluate the traits of two plant varieties to determine if there is nosignificant difference between the two traits expressed by thosevarieties. For example, see Fehr and Walt, Principles of CultivarDevelopment, pp. 261-286 (1987). In embodiments, the inventionencompasses progeny plants having a combination of at least 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more of the characteristics as described herein (e.g.,Tables 1-4) for pea cultivar Sugar 136, so that said progeny pea plantis not significantly different for said traits than pea cultivar Sugar136, as determined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions. Using techniques described herein and thoseknown in the art, molecular markers may be used to identify said progenyplant as progeny of pea cultivar Sugar 136. Mean trait values may beused to determine whether trait differences are significant, andoptionally the traits are measured on plants grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.

Progeny of pea cultivar Sugar 136 may also be characterized throughtheir filial relationship with pea cultivar Sugar 136, as for example,being within a certain number of breeding crosses of pea cultivar Sugar136. A breeding cross is a cross made to introduce new genetics into theprogeny, and is distinguished from a cross, such as a self or a sibcross or a backcross to Sugar 136 as a recurrent parent, made to selectamong existing genetic alleles. The lower the number of breeding crossesin the pedigree, the closer the relationship between pea cultivar Sugar136 and its progeny. For example, progeny produced by the methodsdescribed herein may be within 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or more breeding crosses ofpea cultivar Sugar 136.

In representative embodiments, a pea plant derived from pea cultivarSugar 136 comprises cells comprising at least one set of chromosomesderived from pea cultivar Sugar 136.

In embodiments, the pea plant or population of pea plants derived frompea cultivar Sugar 136 comprises, on average, at least 6.25%, 12.5%,25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%,96%, 97%, 98% or 99% of its alleles from pea cultivar Sugar 136, e.g.,at least 6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%,80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% of the genetic complement ofpea cultivar Sugar 136.

In embodiments, the pea plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 isone, two, three, four, five or more breeding crosses removed from peacultivar Sugar 136.

In representative embodiments, a plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar136 is a double haploid plant, a hybrid plant or an inbred plant.

In embodiments, a hybrid or derived plant from pea cultivar Sugar 136comprises a desired added trait. In representative embodiments, a peaplant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprises all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of pea cultivar Sugar136 (e.g., as described herein, in particular, in Tables 1-4). Inembodiments, the pea plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprisesall or essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of pea cultivar Sugar 136 (e.g., as described herein, inparticular, in Tables 1-4), with the addition of a desired added trait.

Genetic Analysis of Pea Cultivar Sugar 136.

The invention further provides a method of determining a geneticcharacteristic of pea cultivar Sugar 136 or a progeny thereof, e.g., amethod of determining a genotype of pea cultivar Sugar 136 or a progenythereof. In embodiments, the method comprises detecting in the genome ofa Sugar 136 plant, or a progeny plant thereof, at least a firstpolymorphism. To illustrate, in embodiments, the method comprisesobtaining a sample of nucleic acids from the plant and detecting atleast a first polymorphism in the nucleic acid sample. Optionally, themethod may comprise detecting a plurality of polymorphisms (e.g., two ormore, three or more, four or more, five or more, six or more, eight ormore or ten or more polymorphisms, etc.) in the genome of the plant. Inrepresentative embodiments, the method further comprises storing theresults of the step of detecting the polymorphism(s) on a computerreadable medium. The invention further provides a computer readablemedium produced by such a method.

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

Applicants have made a deposit of at least 2500 seeds of snap peacultivar Sugar 136 with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC),10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va., 20110-2209 U.S.A. under ATCCDeposit No. PTA-121518 on Aug. 29, 2014. This deposit of snap peavariety Sugar 136 will be maintained in the ATCC depository, which is apublic depository, for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the mostrecent request, or for the effective life of the patent, whichever islonger, and will be replaced if any of the deposited seed becomesnonviable during that period. Additionally, Applicants have satisfiedall the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §§1.801-1.809, including providing anindication of the viability of the samples. During the pendency of thisapplication, access to the deposited material will be afforded to theCommissioner on request. All restrictions on the availability of thedeposited material from the ATCC to the public will be irrevocablyremoved upon granting of the patent. Applicants impose no restrictionson the availability of the deposited material from the ATCC; however,Applicants have no authority to waive any restrictions imposed by law onthe transfer of biological material or its transportation in commerce.Applicants do not waive any infringement of its rights granted underthis patent or under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 USC §2321 etseq.).

Access to this deposit will be available during the pendency of thisapplication to persons determined by the Commissioner of Patents andTrademarks to be entitled thereto under 37 C.F.R. §1.14 and 35 U.S.C.§122. Upon allowance of any claims in this application, all restrictionson the availability to the public of the variety will be irrevocablyremoved by affording access to a deposit of at least 2500 seeds of thesame variety with the American Type Culture Collection, 10801 UniversityBoulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110-2209 U.S.A.

The foregoing invention has been described in detail by way ofillustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding.However, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications suchas single gene modifications and mutations, somaclonal variants, variantindividuals selected from large populations of the plants of the instantinbred and the like may be practiced within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A seed of pea cultivar Sugar 136, a representative sample of seed of said cultivar having been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-121518.
 2. A plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136, a representative sample of seed of said pea cultivar having been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-121518.
 3. A pea plant, or a part thereof, having all the physiological and morphological characteristics of the pea plant of claim
 2. 4. A pea plant comprising at least 50% of the alleles of the plant of claim
 2. 5. A pea plant comprising at least one set of chromosomes of the plant of claim
 2. 6. A doubled haploid pea plant produced from the plant of claim
 2. 7. A plant part of the pea plant of claim
 2. 8. The plant part of claim 7, wherein the plant part is a pod, a berry, pollen, an ovule, or a cell.
 9. A tissue culture of regenerable cells of the plant of claim
 2. 10. A pea plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim 9 or a selfed progeny thereof, wherein said pea plant comprises all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of pea cultivar Sugar
 136. 11. A processed product from the plant of claim 2, wherein said processed product comprises dehydrated, cut, sliced, ground, pureed, dried, canned, jarred, washed, brined, packaged, refrigerated, frozen and/or heated pods, berries or seeds.
 12. A method of producing seed, the method comprising crossing the plant of claim 2 with itself or a second pea plant and harvesting the resulting seed.
 13. A seed produced by the method of claim
 12. 14. A plant produced by growing the seed of claim 13, or a selfed progeny of said plant.
 15. A method for producing a seed of a pea plant derived from the plant of claim 2, the method comprising: (a) crossing a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136, a representative sample of seed of said pea cultivar having been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-121518 with a second pea plant; (b) allowing seed to form; (c) growing a plant from the seed of step (b) to produce a plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136; (d) self ing the plant of step (c) or crossing it to a second pea plant to form additional pea seed derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136; and (e) optionally repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more times to generate further derived pea seed from pea cultivar Sugar 136, wherein in step (c) a plant is grown from the additional pea seed of step (d) in place of growing a plant from the seed of step (b).
 16. A seed produced by the method of claim 15, wherein the seed comprises at least 50% of the alleles of pea cultivar Sugar
 136. 17. A plant produced by growing the seed of claim
 16. 18. A method of vegetatively propagating the plant of claim 2, the method comprising: (a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated from a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136, a representative sample of seed of said pea cultivar having been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-121518; (b) cultivating the tissue to obtain proliferated shoots; (c) rooting the proliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets; and (d) optionally, growing plants from the rooted plantlets.
 19. Plantlets or plants obtained by the method of claim
 18. 20. A method of introducing a desired added trait into pea cultivar Sugar 136, the method comprising: (a) crossing the plant of claim 2 with a pea plant that comprises a desired added trait to produce F1 progeny; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that comprises the desired added trait; (c) crossing the selected F1 progeny with pea cultivar Sugar 136 to produce backcross progeny; (d) selecting backcross progeny comprising the desired added trait and essentially all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of the pea cultivar Sugar 136; and (e) optionally repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more times to produce a plant derived from pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprising the desired added trait and essentially all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of pea cultivar Sugar 136, wherein in step (c) the selected backcross progeny produced in step (d) is used in place of the selected F1 progeny of step (b).
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the desired added trait is male sterility, pest resistance, insect resistance, disease resistance, herbicide resistance, or any combination thereof.
 22. A pea plant produced by the method of claim 21, wherein the pea plant has the desired added trait.
 23. Seed that produces the plant of claim
 22. 24. A method of producing a plant of pea cultivar Sugar 136 comprising a desired added trait, the method comprising introducing a transgene conferring the desired added trait into the plant of claim
 2. 25. A pea plant produced by the method of claim 24 or a selfed progeny thereof, wherein the pea plant has the desired added trait.
 26. Seed of the plant of claim 25, wherein the seed produces a plant that has the desired added trait.
 27. A method of determining a genotype of pea cultivar Sugar 136, the method comprising: (a) obtaining a sample of nucleic acids from the plant of claim 2; and (b) detecting a plurality of polymorphisms in the nucleic acid sample.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the method further comprises storing the results of detecting the plurality of polymorphisms on a computer readable medium.
 29. A method of producing a pea pod, the method comprising: (a) growing the pea plant according to claim 2 to produce a pea pod; and (b) harvesting the pea pod.
 30. A method of producing a processed product from pea cultivar Sugar 136, the method comprising: (a) obtaining a pod of the plant of claim 2; and (b) processing said pod to produce a processed product. 